Civic centre to host Prince Rupert gymnastics group

The Prince Rupert Gymnastics (PRG) Association has found their two new board members, as well as their initial location.

The Jim Ciccone Civic Centre has been chosen as the start-up spot for the organization and with their five-member board — consisting of Will Spat, Kate Toye, Jackie Touchet and new members Aurora Martin and Ralph Weick — the group is ready to apply for official provincial status as a not-for-profit association with the Canada Revenue Agency. With the designation, PRG can start fundraising for operational costs in order to get the sessions underway.

The next hurdle for the organization is finding paid coaches who can dedicate a good portion of their time to regularly-scheduled practice times.

CANGYM is the national gymnastics agency which oversees the ranking system for badges earned by participating athletes, and PRG plans to use its systems.

“Utilizing the CANGYM badge program allows participants, coaches and parents to monitor progress in addition to being a motivational tool for athletes,” reads the website description.

A couple obstacles the association must address while hosting the club at the recreation centre is the issue of equipment set-up and take-down. As outlined in the newsletter sent to interested gymnastics participants, Spat describes the procedures that need to be completed while sharing a floor that also gets used for basketball, badminton, floor hockey and other activities.

“We are working with the rec centre to schedule in such a way that set up and tear down is minimized,” said Spat in the notice.

A high ceiling, proper ventilation and knowledgeable staff contributed to the club’s decision to hold their inaugural sessions at the civic centre.

Originally, the organization was having difficulty finding a location that met the requirements of ceiling height, with proper bus route accessibility and building rental affordability.

PRG also hopes to introduce KinderGym as a program for tots younger than five years-old looking to get involved with gymnastics at a young age.

Gymnastics has been an area sorely lacking in the city’s recreational offerings and Spat and the board of directors hope to address the need as soon as they can.

Those interested in getting involved with PRG can email portgym@gmail.com to volunteer or reserve a spot with the organization.